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ACMI NETWORKER
Contents
Nominations for Leiton Chinn Award
When is current membership up? 2
“The Pain of Goodbyes” by Bonita Che 2
“Suicide and the Gospel in the Ruins of Japan” by Joe Carter, Gospel
Coalition Blog 3
Countries with highest suicide rates. 3
Coming Events 4
Urbana 2012 4
All Nations Student Conference 2012 4
ACMI 2012 Houston 4
Resources: Science, God and Life videos from Paul Champoux 4
The Leiton Chinn Award for Leader-
ship in International Student Ministry
honors an individual (or couple) who
has made a lasting and significant con-
tribution to the ISM community. Prefer-
ence is given to those whose contribu-
tion has benefited the broad ISM com-
munity rather than just one area of ISM
ministry or only one organization.
Qualifications
A candidate for the Leiton Chinn
Award must be a professional col-
league who
has, in addition to a distinguished
record in ISM, donated at least 10
years as a leader in ACMI.
has served as a professional or
volunteer mentor/model to col-
leagues in the broad ISM commu-
nity.
has inspired Christians in ISM by
such activities as present-
ing ACMI plenary sessions or
workshops, writing publications,
and promoting collaboration and
growth of the ISM movement.
is a continuing source of informa-
tion and wisdom to the ISM com-
munity.
is an ACMI member.
The selected winner will receive the
award at ACMI 2012 in Houston.
Nominations open for annual Leiton Chinn Award
for leadership in international student ministry
March 2012
“Here is my servant whom I
have chosen, the one I love,
in whom I delight; I will put
my Spirit on him, and he will
proclaim justice to the na-
tions. He will not quarrel or
cry out; no one will hear his
voice in the streets. A
bruised reed he will not
break, and a smoldering wick
he will not snuff out, till he
leads justice to victory. In
his name the nations will put
their hope.”
Matthew 12:18-21
Former ACMI president Leiton
Chinn with Ned Hale, recipient of
the 2010 Leiton Chinn Award
To nominate a colleague
Nominations should be made by ACMI members and should present clear evidence
of the nominee's achievements for this award. Nominations must be supported
by letters from three additional ACMI members representing different perspectives
on the individual's accomplishments. ACMI paid staff, current ACMI Board, the
Awards Committee, and self nominations are not eligible for consideration. The
award’s selection process is confidential.
Send nominations with 3 letters of support and the candidate’s resume to the Leiton
Chinn Awards Selection Committee Chair, c/o [email protected] or to the
ACMI office address. The deadline for receiving all letters is April 15.
Contents
Nominations for Leiton
Chinn Award
When is current member-
ship up? 2
“The Pain of Goodbyes” by
Bonita Che 3
“Suicide and the Gospel in
the Ruins of Japan” by Joe
Carter, Gospel Coalition
Blog 3
Countries with highest sui-
cide rates. 3
Coming Events 4
Urbana 2012 4
All Nations Student
Conference 2012 4
ACMI 2012 Houston 4
Resources: Science, God
and Life videos from Paul
Champoux 4
2
When is my current membership up?
The ACMI membership year is based on the fiscal year,
which runs from July 1 to June 30 of the following year.
If you have paid your dues for the 2011-2012 fiscal year,
then you are paid up through June 30, 2012. You will
need to renew your membership for July 1, 2012 to June
30, 2013.
As a current member you will be eligible to receive the
discount for the 2012 conference in Houston.
Some changes
You will not be able to renew your
membership as a part of the conference
registration process this year. You will
be able to renew your membership for
2012-2013 at the ACMI display table
or by following the usual procedures online at www.acmi-
net.net. Dues paid now are valid only until June 30, 2012.
ACMI
Association of Christians
Ministering among Internationals
6012 SE Yamhill St., Rm. 206
Portland, OR 97215
Phone 503-750-7888 [email protected]
www.acmi-net.net
The ACMI office is
currently lodged in the
WorldView Center in
Portland, OR, home of
the Institute for
Intercultural Christian
Communication. The
Networker is published
bimonthly.
O ne recent morning before dawn, when most
of Chicago was fast asleep, Cindy* and I
were already on our way to O'Hare International
Airport. A month ago Cindy completed her studies
at NU. This was her last day in the States. She was
going to board a 6:00 a.m. flight to San Francisco
and then go on to Shanghai, the city she grew up
in. With the taxi driver leading the way and a sliver
of moon hanging in the sky, we sat close together
and talked with the candor of good friends.
Cindy and I met at a Christmas party a year ago.
Then she contacted me to find out more about
Christian activities. We became friends and had
countless meals together.
I'd told myself this trip was no big deal, as students
will always come and go. But as soon as we arrived
at the airport, my true feelings started to come to
the surface. For many years, saying goodbye to
friends I loved had been something to brave—I was
scared of the dreadful distance between countries
and the uncertainty of the future.
In front of the students, I often hide my worry and
anxiety about life and pretend that I’m fine. After
all, I am supposed to be their cheerleader, not the
other way around.
While I was trying to control my feelings, Cindy hugged
me and said, "Bonita, you are a wonderful friend. Thank
you for helping me and doing things with me. My life is
different because God brought you to me….”
To me, a Chinese woman trying to start a ministry in
America, the pain of uprooting, the financial strain, and
the loneliness often seemed too much to bear. Many
times I wanted to quit. Just throw everything away and
quit.
But when Cindy told me that she was grateful for me
and for what I did? That I made a difference in her life
while she was in America? It left me speechless. Even
though that was exactly what I had been trying to do
throughout our friendship, I still had no defense against
those words of gratitude and encouragement.
I cried as I left the airport, a mixture of tears of parting
and tears of thanksgiving. Then I looked up, just in time
to see the sunlight peek through Chicago's beautiful sky-
line.
*Not her real name
The Pain of Goodbyes by ACMI member Bonita Che, Feb. 2012
3
The Story: A year after the earthquake, tsunami and
nuclear disaster that devastated Northern Japan last
March, many [of] that country's citizens are still suffer-
ing from despair. According to Bloomberg, suicides
rose in April, May, June and August---the months fol-
lowing the natural disasters that devastated towns in
northeastern Japan and triggered a nuclear crisis. For a
14th straight year, suicides in Japan have exceeded
30,000.
The Background: As Joey Zorina, a pastor at Ekklesia
Christian Church in Kawasaki, Japan, writes, the im-
ages of the destruction will be etched forever in the
minds of the country's survivors:
The farmer who hanged himself, distressed about a
cabbage harvest ruined by radioactive fallout from
the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant;
the overworked government worker near the com-
plex who took his life;
the father who killed himself after a fruitless search
for his child after the tsunami—
all these are but reminders of the ongoing suicide (30,
000 per year) in post-modern Japan. Nearly 100 people
a day commit suicide; one every 15 minutes. The most
common hour of death is 5:00 am for men; and noon
for women, after their families have left for work or
school. The suicide rate in Japan is tragically alarming.
Suicide is now the leading cause of death among men
aged 20-44 and women aged 15-34.
Imagine the soldiers and police officers who had
spent weeks on the grim search for bodies, as well as
nuclear plant employees working overtime to deal with
the crippled reactor! They're ordinary men and women
News from around the world
Suicide and the Gospel in the Ruins of Japan
By Joe Carter, the Gospel Coalition Blog
like us with families, all vulnerable to the effects of the
disaster. As the nation rebuilds from the 3/11 major ca-
tastrophe, public health officials are concerned that a lin-
gering sense of hopelessness and desperation among
those affected might lead to a surge in suicides. In a na-
tion that's already coping with one of the developed
world's highest rates of suicide deaths, there is a high
probability that post-disaster stress could eventualy [sic]
lead to a higher rate. The nation experienced a rise in
suicides after the 1995 Kobe earthquake that killed more
than 6,400 people. Those who chose to die included the
city's deputy major, who doused himself with kerosene
on the first anniversary of the disaster. As Japan rebuilds,
there is a fundamental question that will arise in the
hearts of people who have lost homes, family and
friends: “What do I have to live for?”
Why It Matters: “Japan is being rebuilt by the power of
the Cross,” writes Zorina. “There is an ongoing relief
work and support by Christians from all over the world.
And it would be very unkind and unloving if we try to
liberate people from their present temporal sufferings and
not offer them the whole Gospel to alleviate their eternal
sufferings."
Because of God's grace, some Japanese are able to see the
light of Christ even in the shadow of destruction. For ex-
ample, Masato Kotani lost his business because of the
disasters, but is grateful that it helped him to find what
really matters.
Nearly 100 people a day
commit suicide; one
every 15 minutes”
“What do I have to live for?”
Countries with highest suicide rates
According to 2011 statistics from WHO
Lithuania 09 61.3 10.4
Russian Federation 06 53.9 9.5
Belarus 07 48.7 8.8
Sri Lanka 91 44.6 16.8
Kazakhstan 08 43.0 9.4
Hungary 09 40.0 10.6
Latvia 09 40.0 8.2
Republic Of Korea 09 39.9 22.1
Guyana 06 39.0 13.4
Japan 09 36.2 13.2
Slovenia 09 34.6 9.4
Estonia 08 30.6 7.3
http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide_rates/en/
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ACMI member and long-time
ISI staff Paul Champoux, to-
gether with his wife Ginny,
have been serving interna-
tional students, scholars, pro-
fessionals and their families
since 1967. They have inter-
acted with the questions that
people from countries around the world have about the
meaning and purpose of life, the relation between sci-
ence and spiritual truths, and the nature of God and his
love and plan for us. Paul offers a long lifetime of study,
experience and thinking about a specifically Christian
Science, God and Life
worldview. That is, what does God teach us about the
world and life?
Paul has developed four videos for ministry use.
The Two Sources of Knowledge about Our Uni-
verse, God, and Ourselves
Creation or Evolution: Which Best Describes Our
World?
Modern Science Is God’s Idea
What is the Meaning and Purpose of Our Lives?
To access these videos and other resource materials, go
to http://www.sciencegodandlife.com/.
visit the Tell a Friend page
https://urbana.org/urbana-12/get-involved-now/tell-friend
All Nations Student Conference 2012
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the All
Nations Student Conference (formerly CISC),
which is a conference for Christian international
students from all around the world.
So in honor of 20 years, we're taking things back
to the beginning, Excelsior Springs, MO, where it
all began!
May 24-29, 2012, Maurer Retreat Center, Excel-
sior Springs, MO
Conference Price: $149 by May 12th, and $179
after May 12th. (includes 5 nights, 9 meals, and
registration). For online registration and infor-
mation go to www.allnationsxa.com
Hosted by: Chi Alpha Campus Ministries, and
Chi Alpha International (Assemblies of God) USA
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Co
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g e
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nts—————
ACMI 2012 Houston
Register online at http://www.acmiconference.com/
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